FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT FOOD WASTE - PAGE 3

The governor's pre-Christmas veto of a bill that would have limited leaf burning has left some environmentalists feeling a bit singed. And while there may be some confusion over just how to legislate where and when leaves can be burned, there seems to be little disagreement that banning leaf burning would prevent air pollution and eliminate a potential health hazard. Gov. Jim Edgar last Thursday vetoed the bill saying that it was "inconsistent and illogical" in legislating who would be affected.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. The nearer the bar, the greater the chances of risky drinking NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Does living near a bar encourage people to overindulge, or do heavy drinkers move to neighborhoods with easy access to alcohol? A new study suggests it may be the former for some people. Researchers in Finland found that of nearly 55,000 Finnish adults followed for seven years, those who moved closer to bars were somewhat more likely to increase their drinking.

Hungry after a recent day of classes, Lake Forest College freshman Peter Bacon piled an odd assortment of chicken patties, a grilled cheese sandwich, Tater Tots, mashed potatoes and meatloaf onto two dinner plates. And he would have taken even more food, he said, if one staple weren't missing from the college's cafeteria: a plastic tray to carry it all. "At most, I'll carry two, maybe three plates on top of each other," Bacon, 18, said. "I would love to have a tray." But students returning this fall to Lake Forest College and dozens of other campuses nationwide are finding that's no longer an option.

Environmentally conscious families often have a common question about the kitchen: Is it more ecologically sound to place food waste in the garbage disposal, where it is ground up and mixed with a waste water system, or is it better to put it in the trash, where hopefully it will decompose in a landfill? Neither is the perfect answer, unfortunately. Food scraps in a garbage disposal actually wind up in two places. As it is screened out of the water system by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, a good share of it becomes sludge, which is sold as fertilizer.

As we gear up for weekend barbecues, the Environmental Working Group offers some food for thought in its “Meat Eater's Guide” released Wednesday. The consumer group, best known for its Dirty Dozen list, has used new criteria to calculate the carbon footprint of a wide range of foods from lentils - (the best) to lamb (the worst) - and how individual dietary changes could reduce energy use and emissions. Some of the findings are startling, including the following: "If everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese just once a day, over a year, the effect on emissions would be the equivalent of taking 7.6 million cars off the road.

Q--My husband and I live in a rural area that is not served by public sewers. Our household wastewater flows to a septic tank. I have been told that I can't have a garbage disposal because the food scraps will clog the system. Is this true? If I do decide to install a disposal, will I have to pump out my septic tank more frequently? What about septic tank additives? Do they work? A--I have heard that same claim about garbage disposals from other people, including some septic system professionals.

In the last few years, thousands of elementary and junior high schools across the country, including nearly 70 in DuPage County, have brought worm composting bins into the classroom to teach kids about the environment. Now adult composters are becoming increasingly interested in this wormy way to turn food scraps into nutrient-rich soil. "People call us with questions about vermi-composting," said Barbara Wonser, assistant coordinator of the DuPage County Solid Waste Education Center in Carol Stream.

The Naperville City Council on Tuesday approved more stringent trash disposal rules for downtown businesses. The city's public works staff wanted the provisions because they had identified a number of waste-related problems in the downtown, including objectionable odors, spillage, overflow, lack of adequate space and the proximity of disposal areas to public sidewalks. City officials met with members of the Naperville Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Naperville Alliance before the new guidelines were put into place.

A lauded Highland Park curbside composting program, launched in January, is on the rocks after a Waukegan facility abruptly stopped accepting food scraps as it scrambles to address odor complaints. About 140 residents took part in the pilot program, which picked up food scraps from a special container outside their homes and dropped it at Nu-Earth Organics, one of two composting facilities in Lake County licensed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. April 3 was the final day of the pick-up program - until Highland Park Sustainability Director Bryan Tillman can find a viable alternative, he said.

The Chicago Botanic Garden's airy restaurant may offer views of a lagoon and lush greenery, but to Nic Zerebny, it's no Eden for fans of recycling. Zerebny was startled after a recent lunch when a worker at the Glencoe facility, which prides itself on promoting sustainability, told him not to bother separating the cups and plates from his leftover food even though the signs suggested they do so. "I said, 'Wait a minute, are you telling me this stuff isn't getting recycled?"